Mahdia & El Jem
(transfer time from Monastir Airport 90 minutes)

South of Monastir is the coastal resort and port of Mahdia, ancient capital of the Fatamid dynasty. Situated outside the town along reputedly one of Tunisia's finest stretches of beach are several modern hotels. Mahdia is traditionally a place to stay in the summer and here you can relax free of commercialization and enjoy your vacation tanning on the beach just watching the world go by. At night you can take in the colorful procession of fishing boats carrying lanterns and by day enjoy freshly caught fish in the working port at one of the reasonably priced restaurants. Mahdia is now the most important port of sponge and blue fish.

What to see

• A visit to the Medina is very worthwhile. Besides haggling for leatherware, silverware and carpets you can discover how impressive the fortifications are surrounding the old town. Muslims and Christians have fought over this once impregnable fortress city and other invaders included the English, French and Spanish.
• There's a colorful market once a week of jewelers and tailors and afterwards you can enjoy a coffee in the town square Place du Caire.
• A short walk from the square is the Great Mosque a modern reconstruction of a thousand year old building.
• It's not often you see a cemetery by the sea, but you'll find one in Mahdia and it can be a pleasant walk, particularly in the Spring when the area is thick with flowers.

Where to go

• The hotels in Mahdia organize water sports and there's a good riding stable in the grounds of Hotel Cap Mahdia.
• A new diving school is also nearby.
• From Mahdia you can make connections by train to Sousse, Monastir and Tunis.
• Close by is the amphitheatre of El Jem and further south Tunisia's second city Sfax.

 

El Jem

If you think that the Colosseum in Rome is spectacluar then a visit to El Jem is a must. This magnificent amphitheatre is quite possibly the single most impressive Roman monument in Africa. Though it's amazingly well-preserved, its location means there aren't the crowds that you get in Rome and you can wander around to your heart's content, visiting the chambers below ground where the gladitorial combatants and the animals were kept.

A UNESCO World Heritage site, it is the third largest amphitheatre in the world, only the Colosseum and the ruined theatre of Capua were bigger. In summer months, the arena is sometimes given over to concerts.